Being There
by HorsesRMyAngels
Summary: Eli David shows up in the aftermath of the explosion. He and Tony have a talk. We know Eli's a terrible father, but that doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't regret things. Terrible summary, just read it, it's not very long anyways.


**AN:** I wrote this a week or two ago and forgot to post it. Just a little oneshot I wrote when I heard Eli David is going to be in the premiere. Speaking of the premiere, I'm still excited over the preview. Anyways, I'm not one for long notes, so enjoy. And review if you'd like!

Tony and Ziva stared up at the bleak remnants of the NCIS Headquarters building. Harper Dearing was dead, thanks to a joint effort between NCIS, FBI, and for some strange reason, Mossad, but they were all still a long way away from finding closure. McGee was still recovering from his injuries. Ducky had a pacemaker put in, according to the last update from Jimmy Palmer. Gibbs was nowhere to be found, though Tony and Ziva assumed he and Fornell were in his basement drinking a bottle of bourbon.

Ziva sighed as she reached for Tony's hand and intertwined her fingers with his. Out of all of them, perhaps Dearing's act of terrorism had wreaked the most emotional havoc on her. The reminders of her troubled childhood in a troubled country awash with violence, the violence which killed her sister Tali. Entrapment in a small, dark elevator, imprisonment like she remembered from her months in a Somali terrorist camp. Her partner, the man she loved, for whom she would gladly give her own life, injured with a concussion. It was enough to propel even the strongest person into emotional turmoil.

And then, of course, Eli David and his Mossad officers showed up to "help". The crappiest father there was, crappier than even Tony's, he had to admit, finally showing some concern for his only surviving daughter. Tony didn't buy it. Ziva didn't want to, but she did. Secretly, she wanted so desperately to believe that she had a father who gave a damn about her. So while one part of her told her that Eli David had an ulterior motive, that he'd lied to her before, another believed that he cared, and that was all. He was her _Abba_, wasn't he?

"I am going to go find my father before he returns to Israel," Ziva whispered to Tony as she gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Tony questioned dryly. She gave him a soft smile in return and kissed his cheek before walking off.

Tony sighed as he watched her go, and then returned his gaze to the now decrepit building. A million thoughts ran through his head, every single one about the same woman. He couldn't get her off his mind, not that he'd ever been able to. What a puzzle she was, but then again, so was he. A puzzle he'd gladly spend his whole life figuring out, given the chance.

It was as he thought about Ziva that Eli made his way over to where Tony was standing and positioned himself next to the younger man. Tony glanced warily at him before returning his vision to the building.

"Ziva's looking for you, Director David."

"I know. But I thought that now might be my only chance to speak with you. And please, call me Eli."

"If you say so," Tony said gruffly. Eli chuckled, picking up on the tension in his voice.

"You do not like me, Agent DiNozzo?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly put it that way."

"And how would you put it?"

"I'd say that I don't quite care for the way you treat your daughter."

"So this is about Ziva?"

"It isn't?" Tony turned his body to face Eli David, his eyes narrowing. The two men glared at each other for a minute, saying nothing.

"Are you sleeping with my daughter?" Eli finally asked.

"No."

"Let me rephrase that. Do you love my daughter?"

Tony paused before answering. He didn't exactly trust the man who stood before him.

"Yes."

"And you would do anything for her?"

"I think you're forgetting who it was that dragged her out of that hell hole in Somalia you sent her to."

Eli David glanced down at his shoes.

"I have made mistakes. I understand you have too, Agent DiNozzo."

"Where are you going with this, Eli?"

"I am trying to ask you for a favor. Take care of Ziva. Do not be one of the many men in her life who have hurt her. I am afraid that I am one of them, something which I am not proud of."

"Look, if this is supposed to be your blessing, I don't want it." Tony turned to leave, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Then it is not a blessing, but a wish. A wish that my daughter will be happy. I may not know my Ziva as well as a father should, but I know things. I see how she looks at you. She is happier than I have seen her since she was a child when she is with you. Do not take that for granted, as I have."

Tony's opinion of Ziva's father began to soften ever so slightly. The man might be a real bastard, but you had to give him credit for trying to make things right for his daughter.

"Wouldn't even dream of it," he replied.

"Then you will promise that you will always be there for her?" Eli asked, his last request.

"As long as she'll have me."

Eli smiled.

"Then I wish you two a very happy life together."


End file.
